The Story of Len Dawson Smoking a Cigarette at Super Bowl I

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The photograph of Len Dawson smoking a cigarette during halftime of Super Bowl I is one of the most recognizable images in Kansas City sports history. Taken on January 15, 1967, the image captures the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback seated on a folding chair, uniform rumpled, a bottle of Fresca at his feet, and a cigarette in hand.

Shot by LIFE magazine photographer Bill Ray inside the Chiefs locker room, the moment occurred during the first AFL NFL World Championship Game, later known as the Super Bowl. At the time, the Chiefs trailed the Green Bay Packers by four points and would ultimately lose the game 35 to 10.

What makes the photograph striking today is how ordinary it was in its own era. In the 1960s, smoking was common throughout American society, including professional sports. Many NFL players smoked cigarettes or cigars during games, at halftime, or in locker rooms. Chiefs tight end Fred Arbanas later recalled that locker rooms were often filled with smoke, and cigarette use was not considered unusual or unhealthy by contemporary standards. Medical warnings about smoking were still years away, and cigarettes were sometimes even promoted as relaxing or soothing.

Despite its vivid nature, the photograph was not published at the time. Ray’s access to the locker room came through an agreement with Chiefs head coach Hank Stram, which reportedly required the Chiefs to win for the images to be released. When Kansas City lost, the photo remained unpublished and largely forgotten for decades. It resurfaced in 2014, when TIME released a collection of previously unseen images from the first Super Bowl, instantly drawing national attention.

The image gained renewed meaning as football and society changed. By the 1970s, health research, public awareness campaigns, and new league norms began to phase smoking out of professional sports. Even Dawson himself later quit smoking and was never known to smoke during his long broadcasting career.

Today, the photograph is valued less for the act it depicts and more for what it represents. It offers a candid snapshot of professional football in a different era, one less commercialized, less regulated, and far removed from modern ideas about athlete conditioning and public image.

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ps: on January 11, 1932, an explosion tore through the lobby of the Midland Theatre in downtown KC.